Designated hitter Andruw Jones and closer Brian Falkenborg have been cut from the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles' reserved list and released, an informed source said Friday.
The team is looking toward to acquiring foreign players to fill the cleanup hitter and closer roles, but depending on how things go may seek to re-sign Jones and Falkenborg.
The source also said that infielder Kevin Youkilis has told the Eagles he has retired after an injury-plagued 2014 that saw him play just 21 games in his lone season for the Eagles. Multiple media sources in the United States, had previously reported his retirement.